50 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Jay., 1900. : 
and therefore also of various heights, trom 20 feet downwards. ‘The last five 
years have been very dry, and the growth of the trees has been greatly checked, 
To those who have been unsuccessful in the past I would say, ‘Try again. 
There is scarcely any farm where a suitable spot could not be found to grow 
some trees successfully; low-lying ground, where the moisture will drain to, 
should be selected if possible. In our dry areas the ground should be well 
ploughed—6 inches deep will do, but if deeper so much better—and the ground — 
well pulyerised. Plant the young trees carefully, and take care of them the ~ 
first year ; if the soil gets too dry, a watering should be given, and the soil 
loosened around them, and kept free from weeds. If the young trees are 
assisted through the first summer, they will generally hold their own afterwards, ~ 
provided that they are kept free from weeds and securely fenced against stock. | 
I would advise intending planters to raise their own trees, as this can be done 
with very little trouble. The trees are then on the spot when wanted, are 
not damaged through carriage and exposure to the air, and can be planted — 
when it is convenient and the weather is suitable. ‘There is no doubt that the — 
Sugar Gum is the best tree to plant for timber in the north; it is hardy, and a 
fairly free grower if the conditions are suitable. Where trees are required for — 
shade, I would recommend the Pepper-tree. Seeds of both should be sown im 
boxes or pots in nice sandy soil in January or February; the seeds should only 
be lightly covered with fine sand, and kept moist till the plants are up, and 
regularly watered afterwards. If the plants come up too thick they should be 
thinned out; if in pots, it is best to leave only one, the strongest, pulling out ~ 
all the others. The young plants should not be sheltered too much, or they 
will be too tender and will suffer from frost when planted out. I would not 
adyise planting too early ; the end of July and August is early enough, as there 
is then less danger of frosts.” 
The late Baron Ferd. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., late Government Botanist | 
for the colony of Victoria, says of the Sugar Gum, which he calls Sugary — 
Eucalypt (Zucalyptus corynocalyx), that it ranges along Spencer's Gulf in © 
many places; thence is dispersed westward as far as Streaky Bay (Colonel — 
Warburton) ; on the stony declivities of Mount Remarkable and at Wirrabara, — 
ascending to considerable elevations (J. Ednie Brown); about the lower — 
Wimmera (J. Allen), and probably to be found yet in many adjacent localities. — 
This tree is not found in Queensland (says Mr. F. M. Bailey, Government — 
Botanist), but there is no reason why it should not be successfully grown in our © 
Northern districts. According to the Inspector-General of South Australian — 
Forests, it reaches a height of 120 feet, the trunk attaining a final diameter of 54 
or even 6 feet at about 5 feet from the ground ; length of bole for timber up to — 
60 feet. The wood has come into use for fence posts and railway sleepers ; its 
ay is attested by the fact that posts fifteen years old showed no signs of 
ecay. 
For a desert country, it is one of the most eligible of timber Hucalypts. 
FARM FORESTRY. 
Wuerever the planter has chosen his trees with intelligence and so succeeded ~ 
in producing a useful plantation, there has been the real spirit of forestry. 
In the spruce lands of the north-east, for example, many lumbermen have 
come to see that by leaving the small trees standing they can return for a | 
second crop earlier than would otherwise be possible, and that this plan pays. — 
In many cases they are leaving the spruce, ariel measures less than 10 inches 
in diameter, and in others that which measures less than 12 inches, because the 
trees under these sizes can be harvested with greater profit if they are left a 
few years to gain a larger growth. Similar work has been done in other — 
sections of the United States, as, for instance, in the southern pine belt, where 
repeated crops of long leaf pine have been cut from the same tract. 
